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By S. H. Ash

THE BARRIER-PILLAR SYSTEM in the Lackawanna Basin consists of 93 barrier pillars between Archbald and Taylor, Pa. These pillars affect 48 mines, have a total length of 87 miles, and confine 21 underground pools, which contain more than 10 billion gallons of water. From an investigation of size, position, and condition of the barrier pillars, it is apparent that those concerned are uncertain, not only as to the method by which the sizes of the barrier pillars were determined but also as to the stability of those that may be expected to act as dams. Where a barrier pillar must act as a dam, its failure may result in loss of life, the mine, or both; it would be far better had it not existed and thereby given a false sense of security.

Jan 1, 1952

By W. B. Berwald

[Accurate ~cusirc::ie t of euusu.rface r,resw rus £Uld tee:: ?er:~t:,res in producin+ oil and as wells is one of tine ast iy,ulortant steps ever t,.s:en to place the rprwctice of retroleum ,-iroduction on an exact scientific basis. i'reerures and teial.or-tures in a -petrolcuia r4:, rvoir. have a rn..r..ed influence over the o:wvement of oil and ~c s both within the. reservoir and t~:rou,=Ii the various-size "flow otrin;;u" of proLucin,; wells to tine surface. Knovrled: ?c of theso fc,.ctgrs form a Laois for cny attei:ant to [.,-~ly eciantific j:cthods to the solution or analysio of mc.nj proble;ae encountered in the production of oil and 1c_c, Without a.ccur:tc mcaaurx,ients of reosures r:.nd tcn::paratuxes within the rocervoit and -well 'flo-,r strinL:s" tae aI,licution of w.ny proved enbinecrin and scientific princiy-,loo is on %,]

Jan 1, 1935

By F. D. Sutterfield

This study was conducted to provide experimental evidence on the effect of modifications of gasoline front-end composition on the photochemical specific reactivities of automotive emissions. Evaporative and evaporative-plus-exhaust emissions from an automobile operated with four fuels of different volatility and varying levels of C.-C5 olefins were irradiated in a 10040 environmental chamber at three sets of initial hydrocarbon-nitrogen oxides concentrations. Reactivity was measured and expressed in terms of rate-of-NO2 formation and dosages of oxidant, peroxyacetyl nitrate, and formaldehyde. The compositional changes that were necessary in reducing fuel volatility were found to have no significant effect on the reactivity of the emissions. However, replacing C4-C5 olefins with saturated components resulted in sharp decreases in all reactivity manifestations observed for the evaporative emission samples. A lesser influence (of C4-C5 olefin replacement) was found with the composite exhaust-plus-evaporative samples; the effect that was observed could be attributed to the evaporative emission portion of the sample. The data therefore suggest that saturation of front-end fuel olefins had no large effect on exhaust emission reactivity.

Jan 1, 1971

By B. F. Naylor, C. H. Shomate, F. S. Boericke

"Ilmenite is the most important titanium-bearing constituent of titaniferous iron ores. Such ores, of which the United States has abundant reserves, are of interest because they constitute an important potential source of both iron and titanium that may be tapped in times of stress, and which eventually may be utilized in the normal course of events.As the iron and titanium constituents of titaniferous iron ores are not completely separable from each other by ore-dressing methods, any process for metal recovery will, of necessity, involve reduction of the iron in ilmenite. Consequently, knowledge of the thermodynamic properties of ilmenite should supplement information already available concerning those ores. With this in view, the Pacific Experiment Station of the Bureau of Mines undertook to evaluate thermodynamic properties; the data obtained are the subject of this report.Three types of experimental work were involved. First, low-temperature specific heats of ilmenite were measured in the temperature range 500 to 29S° K. These data serve to evaluate the entropy, a quantity necessary for a reliable evaluation and correlation of other thermodynamic properties. Second, high-temperature heat-content measurements were made in the temperature range 298° to 1,743° K. The data serve to bridge the gap between room temperature and elevated reduction-process temperatures. Finally, hydrogen-reduction equilibria were measured in the temperature range 1,220° to1,375° K. These data-give a direct measure of the free energy of reduction of ilmonite at these temperatures and, in conjunction with results of the other two types of measurements, serve to obtain the heat of formation of ilmenite, a quantity not readily determinable by direct calorimetric means.The data are correlated to form a composite, self-consistent portrayal of the thermodynamic properties of ilmenite, which may be used in evaluating the efficacy of any reducing agent of known thermodynamic properties. Selective-reduction of iron in ilmenite by hydrogen, carbon monoxide, and carbon are considered in this report."

May 1, 1946

By Whitman E. Brown

"As part of a Nation-wide program of the United States Government to develop natural resources, funds were made available to the Bureau of Mines for the investigation of the ""Reduction of Iron Ores by Solid and Gaseous Fuels."" These investigations are concerned with the direct production of iron from its ores without the use of a blast furnace. Many processes have been proposed for the low-temperature reduction of iron oxides, but few have been developed to commercial use. High-quality sponge iron is produced com-mercially only in Sweden.The cost of iron production depends in part on the grade of the ore and increases with decrease in grade. The substitution of cheap natural gas in a sponge-iron process for expensive coke in smelting in the blast fry pace would partly compensate for the use of low-grade ores. If a process can be developed in which inexpensive natural gas can be used as fuel and reducing agent, the large deposits of low-grade iron ore and the natural-gas resources of east Texas may be utilized in the commercial production of sponge iron.Sponge iron may possibly be used to supplement scrap iron, pig iron, or, in special instances, wrought iron. Sponge iron will vary but slightly in composition and will contain little or no nickel, cobalt, manganese, copper, and other allowying metals. It is becoming increasingly difficult to obtain choice scrap iron of nonalloy composition. Pig iron contains 1.5 to 3.0 percent silicon and 3.0 to 4.5 percent carbon. Sponge iron generally contains less carbon than pig iron.The Madaras Steel Corp. in Longview, Tex., built a set commercial-scale sponge-iron plant which was intended to be operated in connection with a steel foundry. The process is based upon the reduction of preheated iron ore, with hot reducing gases under pulsating pressure. Although the Madaras Corp. had previously experimented with the production of sponge iron by reducing the ore with pure hydrogen, several attempts to use a re-formed natural gas as the reducing agent in this pilot plant were unsuccessful. The Bureau of Mines leased this plant and conducted an extensive investigation of the Madaras process on a semicommercial scale.The experiments were not entirely satisfactory, partly because of mechanical difficulties and partly because the reducing gas was not of the best quality. However, much information on the production of reducing gas by re-forming natural gas and on the reduction of iron ore with re-formed natural gas was obtained.The sponge iron produced contained approximately 0.1 percent phosphorus; and, after melting in an electric furnace, the iron contained approximately 0.15 percent phosphorus. The results of attempts to improve the ore by ore-dressing methods were not encouraging."

Aug 1, 1946

By Branch of Editorial Services

"The Bureau of Mines was established in the public interest to conduct inquiries and scientific and technologic investigations concerning mining and the preparation, treatment, and utilization of mineral substances; to promote health and safety in the mineral industries; to conserve material resources and prevent their waste; to further economic development; to increase efficiency in the mining, metallurgical, quarrying, and other mineral industries; and to inquire into the economic conditions affecting those industries. The organic act of the Bureau, as amended by Congress and approved February 25, 1913, made it the province and duty of the Bureau of Mines to ""disseminate information concerning these subjects in such manner as will best carry out the purposes of this Act.""In accordance with this directive, the Bureau reports the findings of its research and investigations in its own series of publications and also in articles that appear in scientific, technical, and trade journals; in proceedings of conventions and seminars; in reference books; and in other non-Bureau publications. The number of these reports, the wide range of subjects they cover, and the variety of mediums in which they appear make the kind of list and index presented in this special publication both necessary and valuable. This issue of the Bureau of Mines List of Publications and Articles describes reports and articles published during the period January 1, 1980, to December 31, 1984. It supplements the 50-year list of Bureau publications issued from July 1, 1910, to January 1, 1960;1 the 50-year list of articles by Bureau authors published outside the Bureau from July 1, 1910, to January 1, 1960;2 the 5-year lists of publications and articles from January 1, 1960, to December 31, 1964,3 from January 1, 1965, to December 31, 1969,4 from January 1, 1970, to December 31, 1974,5 and from January 1, 1975, to December 31, 1979;6 and the annual lists of Bureau publications and articles from January 1 to December 31, 1980,7 from January 1 to December 31, 1981,8 from January 1 to December 31, 1982,9 and from January 1 to December 31, 1983. 10"

Jan 1, 1985

By John Wilson

This report describes the performance of Phase I of a project to design, analyze, and demonstrate a multilift longwall mining method applicable to mining coal seams twelve (12) feet or more in thickness. A non-simultaneous multilift operation is the most viable thick seam mining technique for introduction to the United States coal industry. In the case of the proposed site at Emery, Utah it will result in an increase in coal extraction from 30% with present methods to at least 50% and possibly more. The major technological advance involved in this project is mining a lower lift under a previously mined upper lift. To accomplish this, entries must be developed and maintained beneath the upper lift gob. This will necessitate the use of steel supports at frequent intervals throughout the lower lift' entry system. This has not been done in the U.S. to date. An economic analysis of the project indicates that, while this method will result in a higher than average cost per ton for coal mined, the coal would be competitive with current-operation in the area.

Jan 1, 1976

By A. C. Fieldner

THE Bureau of Mines has received many requests for Information concerning the methods its laboratories use for analyzing coal and coke and determining their heating value. The fuel investigations now conducted by the Bureau of Mines are an outgrowth of the work undertaken at the Government coal-testing plant erected in 1904 at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition in St. Louis, and the methods for proximate and ultimate analysis of coal used by the Bureau of Mines are based on those originally adopted by the chemists of the coal-testing plant and followed in the subsequent chemical work of the Government fuel-testing plants at St. Louis, Mo., Norfolk, Va., and Pittsburgh, Pa. The many valuable suggestions and criticisms received from N. W. Lord, director of the School of Mines, and from E. E. Somermeier, professor of metallurgy, of Ohio State University, at that time, are greatly appreciated; development of many of the methods for the proximate and ultimate analysis of coal now used by the Bureau of Mines is chiefly clue to these men.

Jan 1, 1951

By W. S. Landers

Nine high-volatile bituminous Utah coals were carbonized singly and in blends with low-and medium-volatile bituminous coals. Of the 9 coals, 2 are in commercial use as the base coals in blends that produce industrially accept-able metallurgical coke, while 7 are regarded as weakly coking and are not used commercially in coking blends. The carbonization tests were made in a la-inch diameter, cylindrical retort, using 50-pound charges. Sunnyside coal blended with autogenous char generally produced larger and stronger coke than was yielded by straight Sunnyside coal. The volatile matter of the char and the concentration of the char in the blend appear to be important parameters influencing coke size and strength. A blend of 10 per-cent autogenous char of 7.2-percent volatile matter with Sunnyside coal yielded coke that was larger, stronger, and of higher apparent specific gravity than coke produced from an industrial coke oven blend consisting of 15 percent medium-volatile coal and 85 percent Sunnyside coal.

Jan 1, 1967

By Manuel Gomez

This report presents prediction equations for 12 variables that are indicative of metallurgical coal quality. The variables include six for coke strength and six for carbonization product yields. All variables were predicted for coking coals having volatile matter contents from 16.3 to 42.1 percent, dry basis. The prediction equations, developed by mathematical-statistical techniques, were based on information from the proximate and ultimate analyses, the size consist, and the petrographic composition of bituminous coals carbonized in BM-AGA retorts at 800°, 900°, and 1,000° C. The equations were evaluated for validity with independent data derived from the 900° C carbonization of 33 binary blends of various coals and 22 binary blends of Pocahontas No. 3 low-volatile bituminous coal with 11 high-volatile bituminous coals. Results show that metallurgical coal quality can be predicted ahead of mining because data used to derive the prediction equations can be obtained at the time of exploration. Capability to forecast coal quality is useful in mine planning and should provide basic information for optimization of blending and crushing techniques and thus lead to the production of uniform coke.

Jan 1, 1970

By W. H. Ode

In 1949 the Coal Committee of the Economic Commission for Europe, Geneva, Switzerland, established a Classification Working Party, to develop an international system for classifying coal. This project was necessitated by the increased trade in coal among various nations following World War II. Although national classification systems existed, they had been developed to cover the characteristics of domestic coals without reference to coals of other countries. Different terms for describing similar or identical coals in each nation caused confusion in evaluating coals shipped in international trade. Experts from Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, the Federal Republic of Germany, France, Greece, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Sweden, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, East Germany, the United Kingdom, the United States of America, and Yugoslavia participated in various stages of the classification work. Walter A. Selvig was appointed by the Bureau of Mines as the technical expert to represent the United States because of his experience in developing and standardizing methods of analyzing and classifying American coals. He served on the Classification Working Party until his retirement from the Bureau of Mines early in 1956. Extensive laboratory work was done in connection with the classification studies at the Pittsburgh Experiment Station of the Bureau of Mines.

Jan 1, 1958

By Paul Averitt

The coal-bearing rocks in Iowa occur in an arcuate belt across the central and southern parts of the State (fig. 1) at the northern end of the Western Interior coal field. Coal beds of minable thickness are sporadic throughout this area and are mined principally in the three districts indicated by dark shading on the index map, although coal occurs also in the areas indicated by light shading. The coal is mostly of high-volatile C bituminous rank in all parts of the State. SURFACE FEATURES The coal-bearing rocks in Iowa are concealed for the most part by a covering of glacial drift ranging in thickness from a few feet to several hundred feet. This covering has been dissected to form a gently rolling upland, rising from an elevation of 466 feet at the mouth of the Des Moines River to about 1,200 feet in Calhoun County in the central part of the State. The local relief, however, rarely exceeds 150 to 200 feet.

Jan 1, 1949

By D. R. Torgoson, Th. G. Sahama

"This paper contains some new thermodynamic data for silicates in the series Mg2SiO4-Fe2siO4 and MgSiO3-FeSiO3 and gives the results of a thermodynamic attack on the problems of stability end parageneses.. Although some data are lacking satisfactory agreement with mineralogical and petrological observations is indicated.The use of thermodynamic methods in mineralogy and petrology has been rather limited, because accurate thermal data, especially for the more complicated and more important rock-forming minerals, have been too scanty to permit any systematic application to problems in those fields. It is, nevertheless, a fascinating task to investigate to what extent the mode of occurrence and the stability relations of the minerals and mineral parageneses, as revealed by petrological and mineralogical observations, agree with predictions of thermodynamics. At the present stage of development calorimetric data are needed for most of the abundant silicate minerals.Measurement of the heats of solution in hydrofluoric acid of minerals in the series Mg2SiO4-Fe2SiO4 and MgSiO3-FeSiO3 affords a ready means of obtaining their heats of formation from the oxides. Combination of such data with entropy and heat-capacity values gives a means of obtaining free energies of formation from the oxides, which, in turn, are connected di¬rectly with stability and paragenoses.The two silicates of magnesium, Mg2SiO4 and MgSi03, occur as rock-forming constituents as forsterite and clinoenstatite or enstatite. The orthosilicate (forsterite) forms a series of isomorphic mixtures with ferrous-orthosilicate (fayalite). The continuity of this series, suggested by petrological observations, has boon proved experimentally by Bowon and Shairer.4/ The present work shows that those minerals constitute a series of perfect solid solutions - that is, a series of solid solutions for which heats of formation from the individual pure silicates, Mg2Si04 and Fe2SiO4, aro negligibly small.The metasilicates of magnesium and iron also form an isomorphic series. However, this series differs from the forstorito-fayalite series in the fact that the most iron-rich mixtures, between about En10Fs90 and pure Fs, appear to be unstable with respect to the paragenesis iron-rich olivine plus quartz. The supposed instability of pure FeSiO3 as a crystalline compound, at least at high and at moderate temperatures, is remarkable, as no crystal struc¬tural reason for such instability is apparent. The present work indicates, also, that these minerals form a perfect series of solid solutions and throws additional light on the instability question.In the following, the samples used in this investigation will be described. For each of the natural olivines and orthopyroxenes, with the exception of sample L, a chemical analysis was made of the purified and actually used fraction. All the analytical work was carried cut by Oleg v. Knorring, and the specific gravity determinations, by moans of a pycnomctcr, by Oiva Joensuu, both of the University of Helsinki, Finland. The determinations of the optical properties were made by Mrs. Toini Mikkola, of the Geological Survey of Finland."

Feb 1, 1949

By B. E. Blair

The physical properties and related geological and petrographic data for 81 rock types obtained from operating mines or selected test sites are presented in this report. Most of these rock data were obtained to supplement structural studies in underground mines; however, the data may be equally applicable to other problems where the physical properties of rock are an important factor. Stress-strain curves are presented, where available, and free medium velocities from laboratory and field measurements are compared for several rock types. Rock-type, geographical, and geo-logical indexes are included for reference relative to physical property data in this and previously published Bureau of Mines physical property reports. INTRODUCTION This report presents the physical properties of 81 rock types from 16 different projects (sections 53-68). Three previous physical property reports2 3 4/ (herein after referred to as parts I, II, and III) presented data on 244 rock types from 52 project areas. (Part I included sections 1-25, part II sections 26-36, and part III sections 37-52).

Jan 1, 1956

By William H. Schiffbauer

This report details a microcomputer-based control and monitoring network that was developed in-house by the U.S. Bureau of Mines and installed on a continuous mining machine. The network consists of microcomputers that are connected together via a single twisted-pair cable. Each microcomputer was developed to provide a particular function in the control process. Machine-mounted microcomputers, in conjunction with the appropriate sensors, provide closed-loop control of the machine, navigation, and environmental monitoring. Off-the-machine microcomputers provide remote control of the machine, sensor status, and a connection to the network so that external computers can access network data and control the continuous mining machine. Because of the network's generic structure, it can be installed on most mining machines.

Jan 1, 1993

By A. C. Fieldner

ONE of the important functions of the Bureau of Mines is the, analysis of coal from every coal-mining State and Alaska. These analyses are being published for use of Government officials and the public. In connection with analytical data showing composition and quality of coals of the States, consumers, Producers, and the general public will be interested in a brief description of the geologic structure of the coal basins, typical mining conditions in the several districts, and the principal economic data of the industry. These publications have therefore heel) designed to include such features to present concisely the principal facts regarding occurrence, reserves, duality, characteristics, production, and uses of coals of each producing State.

Jan 1, 1952

By Eleanor Abshire

This bibliography is the result of a cooperative project undertaken by the Bureau of Ships and the Bureau of Mines to accumulate literature published to date on zirconium and hafnium and to establish an information center on these metals for the use of any interested research organization or library. This bibliography, which will be supplemented as additional information is accumulated, consists of references, with abstracts, to pertinent literature on the subject published from 1907 to date.

Jan 1, 1957

By S. L. Windes

"INTRODUCTION For a number of years, the Bureau of Mines conducted tests on various types of structures to ascertain the effect of seismic vibrations emanating from quarry blasting in an effort to determine an index of damage. Associat¬ed with these tests, occasional records were made of the characteristics of the air blast or concussion from the explosions. Although the importance of the air-blast problem was recognized, the equipment was not designed for airblast measurements, nor was the early research program concerned with the problem. After the ground-vibration tests had been completed, attention was turned to study of the air blast and its effect. The program was modified, however, in certain aspects by the imminence of war and the final entry of the United States into the conflict. These modifications were made to supply information pertaining to military and civilian defense problems.Detailed discussion of these problems is beyond the scope of this report, which attempts to present preliminary results of factual and fundamental character. However, it may be noted that airblast data are urgently needed for intelligent design of both Government and non-Government buildings, which must withstand the air blast from bombs and afford maximum protection for the occupants. The safety of vital equipment above and below ground necessitates consideration of damage from air blast. Protection against use of dynamite by saboteurs, moreover, hinges largely on the effect of air blast. Identification of a planned ""accident"" involving dynamite often entails knowledge of the characteristics and power of the airblast.The peacetime problem of damage from air blast resulting from quarry and mining blasting activities is of course exaggerated by the wartime requirements of increased production accelerated operation, and enlarged development."

Jun 1, 1943

By Bruce F. Grant

"INTRODUCTION The future of oil production in the part of the Appalachian region included in southwestern Pennsylvania; West Virginia, and southeastern Ohio is directly dependent on the maintenance of existing wells. This report presents an analytical study of the methods used in oil-well reconditioning in this area. The study is part of a research program designed to evaluate those means of stimulating oil production that can effectively and economically maintain present oil-production rates and make it possible to keep existing wells in operation. Well-reconditioning work was curtailed during the war; therefore, an abnormally large number of wells in the Appalachian Region is now in need of repair. Because the lubricant content of Appalachian crude: oils is high and the refined lubricating oils an; particularly suited to use in high speed, high-temperature engines, the demand for these crude oils during the war exceeds, the maximum rate of production obtainable under wartime operating conditions. Increases in operating, expenses, inability to meet war-time reconditioning costs, and inflexible price structures caused the abandonment of an alarming number of wells during the past 4 or 5 years.As a means of increasing regional oil-production rates, new drilling in the older fields for primary production generally is uneconomical because reservoir pressures in most of the fields have virtually been depleted and the production rates of newly drilled wells are small."

Feb 1, 1948

By Gregory J. Chekan

This Bureau of Mines report presents three methods for designing bulkheads to impound water underground: (1) thin and thick plate design; (2) South African plug design; and (3) single and double bulkhead seal design. Related areas critical to the long-term effectiveness of underground water impoundments are also addressed. These include bulk-head anchorage, concrete specifications and placement, the grouting of permeable strata, and the sizing of barrier pillars. A case study involving hydrostatic tests conducted on a single bulkhead seal constructed in the Safety Research Coal Mine of the Bureau's Pittsburgh Research Center is presented in an appendix.

Jan 1, 1985